Grand Court judge arrested in suspected DUI

A Cayman Islands Grand Court judge was arrested Monday night on suspicion of drunken driving following an auto crash on West Bay Road.

“The driver is a judge of the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands,” the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service noted in its statement. The driver was not named by police. The Cayman Compass has confirmed through multiple sources that Judge Ingrid Mangatal was arrested in the incident.

According to police, the one-vehicle wreck happened around 10:15 p.m. when the vehicle collided with a wall in the vicinity of Lime Tree Bay Road.

Shortly after the crash, the driver, who police said was a 52-year-old woman, was arrested, suspected of driving under the influence and careless driving. She had not been charged as of press time.

The driver suffered minor injuries. No other vehicles were involved in the incident and no one else was hurt.

The judge was released on police bail overnight. Calls to Chief Justice Anthony Smellie seeking to determine the current employment status of the arrested judge were not returned on Tuesday.

The Judicial Administration office released the following statement about the arrest late Tuesday: “It would be inappropriate for the court to provide comment during the course of the police investigation.”